Pastor said Murray sold out his profession for a promised fee of $150,000 a month when he agreed to give Jackson a powerful anesthetic every night as an unorthodox cure for insomnia.

Murray will likely serve less than two years in county jail, not state prison, because of California's overcrowded prisons and jails. Sheriff's officials said he will be housed in a one-man cell and be kept away from other inmates.

The tall, imposing Murray, who has been in jail for three weeks, was allowed to change into street clothes — a charcoal gray suit and white shirt — for court. But he wore prison issue white socks and soft slippers.

Jackson's family said in a statement read in court that they were not seeking revenge but a stiff sentence for Murray that served as a warning to opportunistic doctors. Afterward, they said they were pleased with the judge's sentence.

"My son is not what they charged him to be," she said quietly. "He was a gentle child from the time he was small."

Of her son's future, she said, "God is in charge."

Murray, 58, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after a six-week trial that presented the most detailed account yet of Jackson's final hours, a story of the performer's anguish over being unable to sleep.

Pastor was relentless in his bashing of Murray, saying the physician lied repeatedly and abandoned Jackson when he was at his most vulnerable — under the anesthesia that Murray administered in an unorthodox effort to induce sleep.

"It should be made very clear that experimental medicine is not going to be tolerated, and Mr. Jackson was an experiment," he said.

Propofol is supposed to be used in hospital settings and has never been approved for sleep treatments, yet Murray acknowledged giving it to Jackson then leaving the room on the day the singer died.

As for defense arguments that Jackson tempted his own fate when he demanded propofol, Pastor said, "Dr. Murray could have walked away and said no as countless others did. But Dr. Murray was intrigued with the prospect of this money for medicine madness."

Pastor said Murray was motivated by a desire for "money, fame and prestige" and cared more about himself than Jackson.

The doctor was deeply in debt when he agreed to serve as Jackson's personal physician for $150,000 a month during his comeback tour. The singer, however, died before Murray received any money.

"There are those who feel Dr. Murray is a saint and those who feel he is the devil," Pastor said. "He is neither. He is a human being who caused the death of another human being."

Defense attorney Ed Chernoff implored Pastor to look at Murray's life and give him credit for a career of good works. "I do wonder whether the court considers the book of a man's life, not just one chapter," Chernoff said.

The judge responded: "I accept Mr. Chernoff's invitation to read the whole book of Dr. Murray's life. But I also read the book of Michael Jackson's life, including the sad final chapter of Dr. Murray's treatment of Michael Jackson."

Chernoff suggested that Murray is being punished enough by the stigma of having caused Jackson's death. "Whether Dr. Murray is a barista or a greeter at Walmart, he is still the man that killed Michael Jackson," he said.

A probation report released after sentencing said Murray was listed as suicidal and mentally disturbed in jail records before his sentencing. However, Murray's spokesman Mark Fierro said a defense attorney visited the cardiologist in jail last week and found him upbeat.

The judge said one of the most disturbing aspects of Murray's case was a slurred recording of Jackson recovered from the doctor's cellphone. His speech was barely intelligible and Murray would say later Jackson was under the influence of propofol.

Pastor suggested Murray might have been planning to use it to blackmail Jackson if there was a falling out between them. "That tape recording was Dr. Murray's insurance policy," Pastor said.

Defense attorneys never explained in court why he recorded Jackson six weeks before his death. In the recording, Jackson talked about the importance of making his shows on the comeback tour "phenomenal."

Jackson's death in June 2009 stunned the world, as did the ensuing investigation that led to Murray being charged in February 2010.

Murray declined to testify during his trial but did participate in a documentary in which he said he didn't consider himself guilty of any crime and blamed Jackson for entrapping him into administering the propofol doses.

Murray's attorneys presented 34 letters from relatives, friends and former patients to win a lighter sentence. They described Murray's compassion as a doctor, including accepting lower payments from his mostly poor patients.

In their sentencing memorandum, prosecutors cited Murray's statements to advocate for the maximum term. They also want him to pay restitution to the singer's three children — Prince, Paris and Blanket.

The exact amount Murray has to pay will be determined at a hearing in January.

In the meantime, sheriff's officials said Murray will serve a little less than two years behind bars. A recent change in California law requires Murray to serve his sentence in county jail rather than state prison.

District Attorney Steve Cooley said he was considering asking Pastor to modify the sentence to classify the crime as a serious felony warranting incarceration in state prison.

"This is going to be a real test of our criminal justice system to see if it's meaningful at all," Cooley said.

Video: Conrad Murray may not serve full sentence

Closed captioning of: Conrad Murray may not serve full sentence

>>>years, that was the sentence given to dr.
conradmurray
on tuesday in the death of
michael jackson
and before learning his fate,
murray
faced some harsh words from the judge in the case. in a moment we'll talk exclusively to the prosecutors in the case, but first, nbc's
kristen
dahlgren is in
los angeles
this morning with the latest.
kristen
, good morning.

>> reporter: good morning, savannah. yes, dr.
conradmurray
is
behind bars
this morning. it quaent' a big surprise to many that he got that maximum sentence. the district attorney admits he's not sure how much time he'll serve because of california's new legislation to ease prison overcrowding.

>>four years.

>>yeah!

>> reporter: the sentence drew cheers from
michael jackson
fans outside the courthouse.
conradmurray
didn't speak on his own behalf, but the judge specifically referenced both
murray
's participation in the documentary "
michael jackson
and

the doctor:a fatal friendship."

>>and i told security to get the kids away from there.

>> reporter: and his interview with savannah on "today" as evidence that
murray
refuses to take responsibility for his actions.

>>do you feel guilty that he died?

>>i don't feel guilty, because i did not do anything wrong.

>>he has absolutely no sense of remorse, absolutely no sense of fault, and is and remains dangerous.

>> reporter: the defense team argued that the likely loss of
murray
's
medical license
and reputation should be punishment enough.

>>whether he's a barista for the rest of his life, whether he's a greeter at walmart, he's still going to be the man that killed
michael jackson
.

>>was he harsh of -- yes, of course he was harsh. he gave the stiffest penalty that he was entitled to give under the law.

>> reporter: but because of prison overcrowding,
murray
may end up serving only a small fraction of his official sentence, and he'll do that time in
county jail
instead of
state prison
.

>>conradmurray
is not going to serve more than two years and very likely going to serve much less than even one year in the
county jail
.

>> reporter: no matter how much time he ends up serving in jail, jackson's family says
murray
's punishment pales in comparison with all they've lost.

>>that is not enough. my son's gone. i'll never see him again.

>> reporter: as for how much money dr.
murray
may have to pay the
jackson family
, prosecutored asked for more than $100 million in restitution and funeral costs. the judge said he will decide that at a hearing in january. savannah.

>>kristen
dahlgren, thank you.
david
walgren and
deborah
brazile prosecuted dr.
murray
, good morning to both of you.

>>good morning.

>>let's start with this, remarks by the judge. i mean, i haven't seen anything like it, more than
24 minutes
, he essentially gave your
closing argument
all over again. were you surprised at how harsh his tone was? he really gave a dressing down to dr.
murray
.

>>he was not surprised. he had sat through the entire trial, heard all the evidence, one of the most informed people in regard to the facts of its case and being aware of all the facts and all the evidence he was rightfully offended by the actions of
conradmurray
and he was expressing that.

>>people ask themselves gosh, i wonder if there could have been a more serious charge, charged women had something like second-degree murder given the state of the evidence and how the jurors and judge have reacted to it. did you ever consider a higher charge?

>>there was a process within our office where all the potential charges were considered, involved multiple people, lawyers, going through the evidence and the facts of the case, and the decision was made through that process to charge involuntary machine slaughter which we thought was the appropriate charge.

>>obviously the judge maxed him out, gave him four years. there were moments you thought this is a judge sounds like wished he could have given him more if he was able to and we do know the situation in california is such that he will not likely serve the full four years. as the prosecutors who tried the case, poured their lives in it. is that disappointing?

>>no, because the judge sent the message to dr.
murray
as well as any other physician by imposing the actual sentence, the actual time spent
behind bars
is not a reflection of the seriousness of
conradmurray
's conduct.

>>do you agree with that,
david
? are you disappointed to think gosh he only spent a couple of years and not get the full weight of the punishment.

>>certainly deserves the full weight of the punishment, certainly deserves the full four years but we work within the bounds of the law, the judge sentenced him to maximum punishment and how much time he serves at the
end of the day
will be up to the sheriff.

>>we did an interview with dr.
conradmurray
in the waning days of the trial. you mentioned it in your
closing argument
, the judge mentioned it, the lack of remorse. do you think that interview ultimately hurt him?

>>i don't think it helped him. in that interview he expressed a complete lack of remorse, a complete lack of
personal responsibility
. he blamed it again on
michael jackson
, rather than himself. he explained that he was entrapped, that he,
conradmurray
was actually the victim and not
michael jackson
. i think it just showed a complete failure to recognize what he did.

>>and at the same time,
deborah
, he certainly didn't testify at trial, which of course is his right but he didn't even stand up at sentencing. were you surprised at that?

>>no, given his prior conduct and the manner in which he chose to address his feelings on his conduct. i'm not surprised at all.

Making a statement

Fans show off T-shirts emblazoned with "Thriller Killer" before the sentencing hearing of Dr. Conrad Murray on Nov. 29, 2011. Murray was sentenced to four years behind bars after being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of his patient, Michael Jackson, on June 25, 2009.
(Jason Redmond / Reuters)
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Her verdict is already in

A fan of Jackson holds a sign outside the Los Angeles Criminal Courts building during the first day of jury deliberations on Friday, Nov. 4.
(Toby Canham / Getty Images)
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LaToya's arrival

LaToya Jackson arrives with Rick and Kathy Hilton, the parents of Paris Hilton, rear, for the reading of the verdict in Murray's trial in Los Angeles on Monday, Nov. 7.
(Jason Redmond / Reuters)
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Sky high message

Judging him to a tee

A demonstrator stands outside the courthouse during the opening day of Murray's trial in the death of Jackson in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Sept. 27. The trial is attracting the usual media and fan spectacle associated with high-profile court proceedings in L.A.
(Danny Moloshok / Reuters)
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No sunny disposition

Michael's sister La Toya Jackson leaves the courthouse on Monday, Sept. 27. "Michael was murdered, and although he died at the hands of Dr. Conrad Murray, I believe Dr. Murray was a part of a much larger plan," La Toya has said.
(Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)
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Missing Michael

Jackson fan Bristre Clayton of Las Vegas stands outside court during the trial of Murray. The doctor has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and faces four years in prison and the loss of his medical license if convicted.
(Jason Redmond / AP)
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For his brother

Michael's brother Jermaine Jackson arrives at the courthouse in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Sept. 27. "I just feel like it took so long to arrest this guy," Jermaine complained last year about the legal action against Conrad Murray.
(Jason Redmond / AP)
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In the doctor's corner

Tough day in court

Michael's sister and brother -- Janet and Randy Jackson -- leave the courthouse on Monday, Sept. 27. When asked this past February on TODAY if she still believed Murray was culpable, Janet replied, "Mmm-hmm. And that's all I'm going to say. I do. I really do."
(Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)
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Seeking justice

No replacing Michael

A fan dressed as the King of Pop makes a peace sign outside the Los Angeles Criminal Courts building where the trial of Murray is expected to last five weeks.
(Robyn Beck / AFP - Getty Images)
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